Honda Mobilio live on company's India website, Pre-Diwali launch

The Mobilio from Honda gathered a lot of interest at its official showing at Auto Expo this year, and the company had promised its launch soon. It has now started listing the model on its website, though details are not forthcoming. The Japanese automaker unveiled the Mobilio at 2014 Auto Expo in the month of February in India and arguably, the new model succeeded in gathering attention of prospective low-budget MPV buyers in our country. Interestingly, many of you might be unaware that Honda incepted the Mobilio moniker in 2001 for its low-cost van that had been sold till 2008 in the Japanese market.

The Mobilio is based on the Brio platform with similar underpinnings but its length is stretched to 4386 mm to accommodate a 8-seater (2+3+3) configuration. However, suspension setup will be on the stiffer side to counter the effect of increased body weight and roll. The Mobilio will be powered by the 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine that churns out 100 BHP of power, while the petrol powered Mobilio is likely to get the 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine, from the City, under its hood.

The Mobilio will have the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and Chevrolet Enjoy as its direct competitors in the Indian market and there is no doubt that Honda’s new found vigour at the lower end of the market is to be taken very seriously by its competitors. The Mobilio is likely to reach Honda outlets around August with a starting price tag of nearly Rs. 6 lakhs in our country.